Australian bowlers use towels for practice in quarantine

Pat Cummins. Pic/AFP

Australian bowlers have been asked to use room towels to maintain strength in their arms during lockdown and quarantine. With no cricket for up to a month before they fly to West Indies for two white-ball series, the Aussies are discovering novel ways, including using towels, to keep fit during the phase. "Our trainer has sent us a programme, an exercise for us to try out to keep our throwing up in lockdown," Pat Cummins had said on a YouTube show.

"Which is, you get a hand towel or a small towel and you tie a knot at the end of it. It 9the knot) almost looks like a cricket ball and you bowl in your room and you feel a bit of resistance while bowling," he added while explaining the method.

Cummins is one of many Australian players who are serving quarantine after arriving from India via the Maldives following the postponement of the Indian Premier League earlier this month. The players, including star players David Warner and Steve Smith, are locked up in hotel rooms in Sydney. They are, however, following their training regimen.

Cummins acknowledged the novel idea from Aussie team trainer, saying that since it is not possible to use a cricket ball in the room, the towel has come in handy.

"Shout-out to our trainer. He sent that one to practice. We were struck in our room with no cricket ball to throw. Maybe, we can try that with our run-up and with our bowling," he added.

He also said that he has been working on core and advised aspiring fast bowlers to do the same. "Try and work on core. Few squats, few sit-ups. Can't go wrong doing those things as a fast bowler," he said.

The Australians begin their tour of the West Indies with the first of the five T20 Internationals on July 9. All the T20Is will be played in St Lucia. They then follow the T20I series with ODI series that runs from July 20 to 24. All the ODIs will be played in Barbados.

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